Barclay desperate to turn near-misses into victories

Published on Friday 21 November 2008 08:55

JOHN BARCLAY has urged Scotland to take a leaf out of England's book if they want to lose their "nearly-men" tag in the Test rugby arena.

The Glasgow flanker has suffered five defeats from six appearances since making his debut last year, the latest of which was Saturday's agonising loss to world champions South Africa.

Barclay said: "Whenever England played in their build-up towards the 2003 World Cup, they never doubted that they were going to win games.

"Even when they were losing, they always had that composure and that trust in each other that they would go on and win.

If you can get a few wins under your belt, you tend to get a snowball effect. You build momentum and other teams take you more seriously."

Barclay is tired of people patting him on the back for playing well every time Scotland lose and he is aiming for victory against Canada tomorrow.

His sole victory in a Scotland jersey was one to particularly cherish as he helped his country record their maiden Test win in Argentina this summer. Otherwise, it has been a tale of near misses, none more so than last weekend's defeat to South Africa, where Scotland led 10-0 at half-time before losing 14-10.

Barclay said: "People very quickly forget that we ran these teams close.

"I think the last few games we've played well but, again, we've had nothing to show for it. So, if Scotland are to be taken very seriously in terms of world rugby, you have to win these games."